Another Assault on Kamino
by Spectersticks
Summary: A covert operation to sink Tipoca city is uncovered too late, sending chaos abound while the Jedi struggle to salvage the failing infrastructure through heavy fire and aerial assault. Near-death experience in the claws of the Kaminoan ocean tests the bond between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and teaches them that respite exists even in times of war.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of Anakin's rapid footfalls was inaudible amidst the chaos of the rain, thunder, and blaster fire pervading Tipoca city. Fighting on Kamino was never easy – in addition to the near-constant downpours, each city was composed of disparate, saucer-like stations connected by a branching network of bridges. The layout made it impossible to command a battle from a single position. Anakin had no choice but to trust his troops' individual leadership, separated on different platforms to regain control of the city from all sides. For the time being, the landing platform Anakin took alone was cleared. But through the murky shrouds of rain, he could still see red and blue lights flickering over the remaining stations. The distance was too far to jump, with or without the Force. His only option was to pass through the main station to reach the next bridge. The lightsaber hummed fiercely in his cybernetic palm.

The neighboring station was saturated in crossfire. Ignoring the B1 battle droids in front, Anakin leapt behind the neat enemy lines to dispatch the B2s in back. B2 super droids tended to give his clones more trouble, and he was entirely unsurprised to see that in the time it took him to cleave the final B2, not a single B1 was left standing up front. Just as he brought a hand to his mouth to amplify some well-deserved praise back to his troops, a terrible groaning sound of metal on metal rent through the atmosphere. Anakin's attention shot west. The next station over was slowly careening downward into the raging waters, hungry tidal waves clawing it into the ocean. It was one of the stations whose base support beams had been compromised before the ground assault – a covert Separatist operation discovered too late by the Jedi. He growled a curse as he watched the mammoth structure begin to fall. The bridge connecting it to the main station was twisting and cracking under the strain. It would be the third station lost today. There was nothing he could do.

In that moment, a single rolling ball of blazing blue shot from the roof of the main station. It arced impossibly high, finally striking the doomed station's dome rooftop with grace and precision. That old flame of childhood hero worship sparked inside Anakin when he saw the crouching figure emerge from its landing stance, holding both arms out in front. Steadily, and with great protest, the falling station came to a halt. _Obi-Wan_ , thought Anakin, knowing no further words were needed to fully express the magnitude of his admiration. The two droidekas that subsequently rolled onto the failing bridge from the main station stole away his attention immediately. Both droids unfurled simultaneously and trained their barrels on Obi-Wan. With a quick glance back to his Master, Anakin knew that the focus required to keep the entire station from falling must be consuming every midichlorian in his blood. Obi-Wan wouldn't notice the droidekas.

With equal measures of haste and rage, Anakin struck out far into the Force, scraping for every last bit of power he could put behind his left palm. _The distance might be too much. The droidekas might fire. Obi-Wan might be killed._ At times like these – times of looming disaster teetering on an instant's decision – such thoughts served as fuel: recognizing the direness of a situation could kindle that extra boost of strength that Anakin knew too well often determined the fate of battle. The surge in the Force burst outward from Anakin's palm. One second of torturous anticipation later, the first droideka catapulted off to the side, smacking into the second with a distant _crunch_ before continuing its flight over the bridge and into the violent depths below. Anakin opened his eyes. He grinned in satisfaction. The remaining droideka, sparking and fuming, then turned its barrels in Anakin's direction. His grin dropped. "Better me than you right now," he muttered, and raised his saber to deflect the heavy bolts coming his way.

Droidekas fire _hard_. Deflecting blaster fire from a regular rifle often felt to Anakin something like hitting a compact ball with a hollow tube. It sent waves down his arms, became tiring after a while, but droideka fire was different. Anakin likened deflecting droideka fire to hitting an incoming speeder bike with a durasteel pipe. In between shots, he located a pair of tall storage crates to his right and began sidestepping toward them, keeping his posture facing the incoming bolts. By the time he'd managed to maneuver behind them, his saber hand was buzzing. He transferred the hilt to his left and shook out his false fingers with a deep breath to regain some feeling. In that short break, he heard the distinctive shearing sound of a lightsaber through droid. The shots hitting the crates stopped. Cautiously, he peered out from behind them, and found that where the second droideka stood, two sparking halves now laid inanimate on the bridge at the feet of Obi-Wan. The attack must have been instantaneous, because when Anakin looked, his Master was again stanced with intense focus, arms out, preventing the station's demise.

Anakin used the time sprinting toward Obi-Wan's location to check in on his troops via comm. Three out of five groups reported all clear on the platforms they were assigned. Anakin ordered they regroup in the main station to help the groups yet fighting, but each reported back that they'd already begun. Pride was generally discouraged in the ways of the Jedi, but if his voice happened to carry with it the gripping pride he felt for his clones then, he figured he'd pay for it later. Just then, a squad of B1s escorting a demolition droid opened onto the balcony encircling the main station ahead of Anakin. In his surprise, he skidded to a wet, slippery halt. His defensive form was wobbling and sloppy, but either by dumb luck or the overwhelming roar of water and gunfire outside, the squad took no notice as it turned to run in the same direction as Anakin. Relief washed over him, soon replaced by the realization of an idea so foolhardy he guessed he'd probably get a lecture out of it were his Master not so preoccupied.

He started at a dash. He made no attempt at stealth, his saber raised in both hands at his side with a smirk stretching across his face. Right when the droids in back turned their heads over their small, stiff shoulders, Anakin dropped to his back and propelled himself forward with the Force. The water soaking his robes allowed him to glide straight under the squad; all he had to do was whirl his lightsaber a bit. Emerging out from the squad in an uncontrolled slide, every droid crumpled in defeat behind him with an unanticipated lack of legs. Their combined mechanical whining was enough to make Anakin chortle in delight, even as he crashed into the balcony wall ahead and slipped twice rising back to his feet. He'd definitely be telling this one to Ahsoka.

The main station's balcony opened onto a wide exit where the bridge connecting the injured station began. Obi-Wan yet stood inert at the bridge center, his back facing Anakin. No droids. The tilted station up ahead might have even looked a little more upright than before. _Help Obi-Wan put the station back up, then check the troops again to see where we're needed_ , he planned. With the first step onto the bridge, however, a terrible jolt of wrongness washed over him from the Force. Against his will, he stopped moving. _Danger_ , the Force screamed at him, loud enough to drown out the ongoing battle. He had no explanation, but he knew that the ensuing danger was _out there_ , while _over here_ would be safe. That meant the danger wasn't for him. It was– _"Obi-Wan!"_ he cried out through their bond, unsure of what he warned against. The shock rang through. Obi-Wan flinched. The station drooped through his grip in the Force. And in a flash of orange, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Eight days ago, the meticulous surveillance scanners on Tipoca began detecting an intermittent organic signal in areas throughout the city that, at first glance, seemed both random and impossible to traverse. Investigations conducted by clones stationed for security were unable to find any evidence of sentient presence at the traced locations. More often than not, the signal would simply disappear before security closed in, reappearing elsewhere hours later. The phenomenon persisted even after a twice-through review and reset of the security scanning system by the native Kaminoans. Shaak Ti was able to confirm the scanners' odd results after three days sifting through the swamp of sentience in the cloning facilities, when she too sensed a faint life drifting in and out of her detection around the city. At a loss for better means of investigation, she contacted the Jedi Council for assistance.

The Council knew that Jedi strong in the Living Force were generally best suited for tracking elusive presences. Naturally, Anakin would have been first choice. Unfortunately, he had not yet returned from his mission on Bothawui, where he'd only just secured victory against a foreign faction's violent rebellion. Through a series of… unbecoming provocations, lead (of course) by the 501st Division, the faction's eventual release of its gratuitous hidden stores of droids served to confirm their suspected identity as a front for Separatist allies seeking to create unrest in the planet's dense trade sectors. In his stead, Adi Gallia was nominated to the investigation on Kamino. During the same meeting, Obi-Wan expressed concern that if the unknown signature belonged to a person, they likely harbored nefarious intent, considering the immense effort it takes to silence one's detection from Kaminoan organic scanners, clone investigation, _and_ a Jedi's probing with the Force. He concluded the act was in all likelihood preparatory in nature, intended as setup for some grander scheme involving adversaries powerful or knowledgeable enough already to avoid every means of detection. He was rewarded for his cynicism by being nominated to accompany Gallia, despite his recent return from one nasty trip to Mechis III. The two left within the day.

After meeting with Shaak Ti and representatives from the Kaminoan security office, Gallia was able to hone in on the foreign presence. She shared her perception with Obi-Wan, allowing her senses to flow through him after several hours of deep meditation. It really was a shame that Anakin was unable to attend the mission, Obi-Wan lamented privately, for with his connection to the Force and the bond shared between them, this procedure would have been completed in just a few minutes. At any rate, both Jedi were able to track the paths traveled by the intruder with relative ease. Their investigation stopped, however, when they discovered that hundreds and hundreds of tiny charges had been arranged meticulously on multiple stations' lower support structures.

At their size, they would never be detected by routine scans. At their power, any individual charge would likely accomplish nothing. But by swarming the supports with the amount of charges found, together they could collapse the city into the sea. Shaak Ti was informed immediately. She commanded they leave the support levels at once, then sent for bomb squads at the locations listed to her. As Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia retreated upward, security detected a scrambled transmission being sent-off planet. There was no time to decode. Seconds after the transmission, the massive array of charges exploded simultaneously. The stations groaned and began to sway with the surging waves below.

Fortunately, neither Jedi was caught in the explosions during their escape. They verified each other's safety via comm, then rushed back to the failing supports of the two stations that separated them. Stabilizing such a gargantuan network of beams and cables was no easy feat for either of them, but they held fast with the Force while emergency maintenance teams were deployed to all affected stations. Under such a crippling level of strain, it was difficult to notice when Shaak Ti comm'd back to alert that a Separatist squadron had just exited hyperspace uncomfortably close to Kamino's atmosphere. Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia made for the main station bay as soon as emergency maintenance arrived.

Together, the three Jedi on Tipoca surmised that the attack on the city's supports was meant to weaken the stations – if not annihilate them outright – so that the incoming squadron could mount a light airstrike to set them off balance and sink them into the ocean. Shaak Ti ordered clones to anti-aircraft positions while cannons were readied. Adi Gallia reported back to Coruscant, hastily explaining the events uncovered on Kamino and requesting immediate air support to intercept the Separatist squadron before they could bombard Tipoca. Obi-Wan gave chase to the lurking perpetrator, its signature now unshrouded and moving rapidly.

Air support from Coruscant would almost certainly arrive too late to prevent the air strike but Bothawui, by contrast, was quite closeby. When the comm signal went out to Anakin from the Temple, it was Mace Windu who delivered the bad news.

"Skywalker. What is the condition of your troops?" he asked seriously, his small, holographic form taut with arms folded behind his back.

Anakin smiled. "Could be better, but thanks to Ahsoka's quick thinking, we managed to save a lot of lives."

"Do you have pilots in condition to engage a Separatist company threatening Kamino's airspace?" There was no time for congratulations. Anakin understood, his expression morphing back to one more befitting of a solemn General. He surveyed, then responded.

"Yes. Not as many as I came with, but we'll make do."

"Leave as soon as you can. Support from Coruscant is en route, but with any luck, you'll make it a wasted trip."

Anakin rounded his pilots, leaving Ahsoka to collect the ground troops and finish mopping up the remaining droids. In the time it took for pilots to assemble and take formation, Mace briefed Anakin on the situation at Tipoca.

"We sent Obi-Wan with Adi Gallia to investigate – turns out the intruder was setting up small charges to take out the support beams keeping the city from going under. Too small to register on radar. An unknown transmission was detected going off-planet just before the bombs went off and the Separatist ships came in. We're thinking whoever-it-was gave the OK for the Separatists to attack."

Anakin paused, his brow knitting. "Wait," he stuttered, "The bombs went off? The city's _gone?_ "

"It's close to it," Mace responded cooly. "Shaak Ti said the place is moving with the waves now, and one blast that hits a station off-center would probably push it into the ocean. She and the other Jedi there are keeping things steady enough for now, but if those ships get much closer, there's not much they can do from the ground."

Resolution steeled inside him. "I'm on my way."

Testament to Anakin's superb skills as a pilot, the majority of the Separatist squadron was rendered inoperable within the hour. Support from Coruscant could easily sweep through the remaining ships while Anakin's forces created a barrier over Kamino's atmosphere. The Separatists were counting on his disregard for their downed ships. Two decommissioned frigates were allowed to drift past the 501st's line barring the Kaminoan atmosphere from the rest of the Separatist squadron, and at once released six carriers and a hail of fighters that proceeded to rocket down toward Tipoca. Punching the dash in frustration, Anakin chased the fresh squad and ordered his men to follow as soon as the Republic ships from Coruscant arrived.

In the meanwhile, the intruder at Tipoca made full use of their superior knowledge of the city's lower levels. Coupled with the waves outside buffeting the stations this way and that, Obi-Wan was hard-pressed to keep up, all the while being forced to pause his chase to protect the emergency maintenance workers whenever the intruder threw a handful more of those tiny explosives their way. The intruder was obviously Force-sensitive, for they had previously shielded their signature from Shaak Ti and now began worsening the weakened support beams with an outstretched hand. Again, Obi-Wan was forced to abandon his prey in the moments it took to realign damaged the structures. And when at last the arduous chase brought him to the station's landing platform high above the sea, he saw the start of a storm, and the Separatist fighters descending into view.

Through the Force Obi-Wan felt the first fighter ignite its heavy cannons. With a wave of his arm, he sent two large crates on the landing platform skyward, where they collided with the fighter's bolts in midair just before they would hit the main station's rooftop. Singed, jagged pieces of durasteel and plastic rained down where the crates exploded on impact. The yellow sheen of Anakin's fighter caught Obi-Wan's attention next, twirling dangerously close to one enemy ship before veering off to feign collision with another. Anakin succeeded in dispersing their formation, which served to disrupt their aim temporarily until his clones could come in and help finish them off. Obi-Wan sincerely hoped this was the case, at any rate, because with equal probability he supposed Anakin might have dove in alone for the hell of it.

From the steadily darkening skies Anakin could see the bright red skin and lightsaber-blue glow of Shaak Ti where she stood ready to defend against the incoming droids. A few of the carriers had already managed to sweep over the landing platforms of multiple stations, depositing pods of battle droids ready to unfold. Even so, Anakin knew that six carriers weren't nearly enough to mount a full-scale ground attack – especially with three Jedi around. He suspected the droids were either distraction or countermeasure to the city's anti-aircraft artillery. Maybe both. From the corner of his eye, he spotted one of the fighters fleeing just as his clone pilots came to his aid. _Droids don't flee unless ordered_ , he recited, and thrust his fighter's controls to pursue the rogue ship. He knew this must be the intruder's escape route – the one who started all of this. In the periphery of his mind he might've heard Obi-Wan's voice – through the Force or by memory – urging him to turn back and focus on the immediate danger, even if the villain goes free. Much louder, though, rang behind him the horrible metallic boom and creak of a station's lower supports finally giving way. He turned his craft around.

He and his clones together had little trouble disposing of the fighters, though in total Tipoca had already lost two stations. The others yet tilted about at the sea's discretion, ever threatening to topple of their own will. All that remained were the droids still spilling about the stations' landing platforms. Anakin landed his fighter on the nearest droid-infested platform roughly, and set to work mowing them down.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Everything was dark. Even as he felt the world returning to him, Anakin had the distinct feeling of swimming through mud. His body moved on its own as he slowly clambered to unfeeling feet. His vision flickered. His hearing was shot. At some point he must've stumbled, because all of a sudden, he found himself leaning slack against a cold surface at his side. But through the fog drenching his mind, his sense of place and time began to permeate. _Dark. Wet. Kamino._ There was a battle on Kamino. One of them, anyway. He remembered swinging disks above a black abyss, showered with vibrant reds and blues. _There was an aerial assault._ He inhaled deeply and tried to focus his bleary vision. _The stations are falling._ But that didn't make sense – why were the stations on Kamino falling? Was that even possible? _But it's okay._ Distant rumbling noises replaced the silence that padded his ears. He stood up straighter. _Because Obi-Wan can pick them back up._ Then, his breath stopped. His head shot up from where he gazed at the floor, eyes wide, skin prickling. He ran, feeling entirely unfamiliar in his own body, then wavered and slumped against the pillar joining the main station's balcony to what used to be the nearest bridge.

Cold panic crept into his bones. He stared in horror as the shattered remnants of the bridge sank slowly into the deathly waters below. The station ahead was snapped at its base, descending similarly in uneven, enormous pieces. He remembered exactly where Obi-Wan stood. He willed his vision to restore itself to relative clarity while he scanned the dark sea for any sign of his Master. He squinted into the swirling mayhem of sinking concrete slabs and hungry waves, but not a trace could be found. He barely heard his own voice as he shouted for Obi-Wan at the top of his lungs. Again, no response. Shivering, and breathing hard, he summoned the strength to probe their bond. …And found nothing _._ Obi-Wan might as well have been on a different planet for all he felt.

Only one solution presented itself in Anakin's scattered mind. He comm'd Rex. He growled vague orders to send an evac to his location.

"Yes sir – clankers are all cleared out on the south end. The boys can take care of the rest. Are you all right?" the captain responded with his normal demeanor.

"Station's down," Anakin grunted out, "Obi-Wan was on it." Another ragged breath. "I need you to come pick us up when I find him."

Without waiting for a reply, he selected a patch of stormy waters free from debris, and dove.

The thrashing sea was like fresh ice on his skin. Stray ribbons of bleak light filtered down from the surface, highlighting colossal fragments of plastoid and metal while they drifted serenely to sleep at the bottom of the sea. Breaking the surface for air, Anakin knew he wouldn't last down here if he didn't find Obi-Wan soon. He tried not to think about how long Obi-Wan had been down here already. To make matters worse, particulate matter from the swimming debris made for poor visibility underwater. Not a single element of the situation laid in his favor. So for the second time today, he let looming despair kindle his determination. The water stung, clouded and consumed – but it would not rule him, nor his Master. He closed his eyes and dove once more, throwing all he had into their bond. He abandoned his sense of self. He submitted completely to the Force stretched out between them. And he waited. Ignored the asphyxiation clutching his lungs. Refused to feel the chill winding through his body. In all that time which Anakin could not count, Obi-Wan did not reciprocate. There was no signal sent to him as he plunged his existence into their bond, but so strongly did he project himself that a tendril in the Force reached out and brushed against Obi-Wan himself. It was more than enough for Anakin that he did not come back to himself empty-handed. Again he surfaced, gasping and coughing, clawing for the broken signal tower sinking sluggishly nearby. He'd felt it. He'd found Obi-Wan.

Now, he focused on remaining conscious. Such immersive journeys through the Force were supposed to be reserved for meditative, educational sessions between a Master and Padawan – not for desperate, near-death, mid-battle water rescues. Anakin understood why: losing and regaining oneself in the Force is disorienting. Whenever he'd previously surrendered his consciousness so fully, it had always been in absolute safety, Obi-Wan's signature cradling his own while he guided Anakin in the Force. Given his condition now, it might have cost him his life. Using the bars of the signal tower he pulled himself closer to the approximate location at which he detected Obi-Wan's Force signature. Waves surged over him as he moved. He was too exhausted to predict their incoming presence behind him, and as a result swallowed several unwelcome mouthfuls of seawater. It felt like both a lifetime and an instant before he reached his destination.

Underwater, Obi-Wan was vaguely aware of the stiffness settling into his limbs. The vast concrete panel plummeting above him was sinking fast, and at this rate it would surely drag him down if he didn't move out of its way. He lunged to the right. As he did, something sharp jabbed against the plastoid armor over the base of his neck. Paying the offending shard little more than a glance, he jerked back around it, only to find a similar something sharp meeting his side. The descending hood of concrete would not wait for Obi-Wan to wince, much less to change course. Another lunge back freed his side, but now a third invisible sharp pricked his right leg. There was no escape. Before he could react, the bulky panel pressed on Obi-Wan from above, disregarding any resistance and trapping him underneath while continuing to drop.

He chose a random direction along the panel's underside and began scaling along it to find an edge. His lungs were burning by the time he found one, and he hoisted himself out from under the panel, leaving it to discover its watery grave. He looked up to gauge the chances for survival: the surface was nowhere in sight. _Well. I'll be damned if I don't give it a go, at least._ Obi-Wan propelled himself downward to return to the slab he'd just escaped. Orienting himself upright, and sacrificing a few, precious seconds to ensure his trajectory, he used the Force to spring off the debris and speed his ascent. _Thirty seconds_ , he estimated, before he would succumb to suffocation and drown. To preserve his focus, he closed his eyes and began to count. The counting did little to preserve his swimming pace, however, and Obi-Wan soon found himself struggling to ignore his heavy limbs and failing lungs.

Locations of obstacles along his way became indeterminate in the Force. Instead of discreet objects drifting about, he sensed great plumes of hazy mass, sprawling in every direction from indiscernible centers. Unexpectedly, he felt something solid hit the top of his head. With a start, his chest convulsed and his eyes open involuntarily: blackness. Blackness in all directions. Obi-Wan raked a numb hand across the surface above him. _Twenty seconds_. Colorful dots encroached around his vision as he repeated the procedure used to escape the previous oppressive slab. The countdown amplified inside his head. He let his hand guide him for harrowing seconds when at last he found there was nothing left to guide upon. He hurled himself out from under the debris and swam upward with all the speed his asphyxiated body could muster. Too soon, however, he was met with an unnavigable lattice of thick metal girders. _Ten seconds_. He brought a hand to his neck. The other worked feebly to shove himself from girder to girder, slowing his ascent to the pace of a crawl in this cruel and endless labyrinth. _Five seconds._ Consciousness fading, strength drained, he reached to his side and ignited his lightsaber. He extended his arm upward. One reluctant beam overhead at last yielded to its cuts and drifted from the larger network, but Obi-Wan found he lacked the strength to move again. He felt the dark clouds around his perception finally embrace him in full. _Time's up. I'm sorry, Anakin._

Anakin ripped past the debris obstructing his path. The further he descended into the murk, the stronger his Master's signature burned at the opposite pole of their bond. He felt a disturbing ripple, then, when he perceived a perspicuous flicker in the Force not ten meters below. Amid the blackness, a soft blue glow burst to life. Anakin followed with fresh resolve. He found the lost lightsaber hovering gently above a web of durasteel girders, casting a cool light upon the dull metal, illuminating the surrounding wreckage. Delicately, he took the hilt in hand. He wanted to believe that Obi-Wan sent it on purpose, to act as a flare while he swam toward its light. It pained him to know otherwise. Anakin then ignited his own and shone both sabers down into the lattice. The dirty white of Republic armor reflected beautifully through the grey.

Slashing at thick metal girders was expensive to a low budget for oxygen, but Anakin did not take the time to deliberate. He cleaved with both sabers a jagged path into the array and disengaged them as he floated just above an utterly motionless Obi-Wan. Returning both hilts to his belt, he wrapped his arms underneath his Master's, and pulled. He didn't dare glimpse at his face as he swam, unwilling to confirm the pale images constructed in his mind. The continual dwindling of Obi-Wan's signature was enough. Ascension, Anakin discovered, was far more difficult than descension. His arms full, he relied solely on his legs' swimming dexterity while debris up ahead could no longer be shoved away in desperation. A chilling numbness was steadily seeping into his limbs. His aching arms protested. His lungs were ready to collapse. He supposed that at some point, the Force must've taken over, because he could not recall the time between swimming and breaking the surface.

Anakin wheezed and sputtered. The same hostile waves from earlier seemed to grapple him with newfound violence, enraged at his persistence to reclaim one of their rightful victims. He choked on their fury, clutching Obi-Wan ever tighter to his chest in blind defiance. It felt as if the ocean was relentless in its pursuit to strip him of his Master. His tattered state didn't allow him to recognize the clones hanging out of the evac, or their adamant shouting, straining themselves to tear Obi-Wan from Anakin's grip in order to maneuver each of them safely aboard the craft. Eventually Rex's foot found his General's shoulder, gruff apologies unnoticed, and with the help of three more clones, the team forcibly extracted Obi-Wan and dragged him aboard. The murderous screaming elicited from Anakin would haunt the rescue squad for weeks. Thankfully, once deposited on board, surprise overtook his rage and he sat up on quivering elbows without much coordination. He glanced this way and that, senses overloaded with the sudden feeling of solid ground, breathable air, and clones yelling over the storm. One blurry clone in particular was awfully close to his face, apparently speaking quite loudly and slowly without a helmet, as if to articulate something to a deaf child. Anakin squinted and leaned away. He watched as the sea below became further and further, momentarily distracted by the scene until his purpose returned to him.

" _What are you DOING?!_ " he shrieked, tossing himself up to his feet in an instant and swaying square into a clone with his back turned. He stumbled forward. He was leaving the ocean. He needed to go back.

Multiple pairs of strong, armored arms prevented him from diving right out of the evac.

" _Let me GO! LET ME GO! Obi-Wan is out there!"_

Through similar phrases, throwing in the occasional insult concerning loyalty, brotherhood, or other such abuses in languages not recognized by the clones, Rex directed those restraining Anakin to lead him to the other side of the small craft. There knelt two troopers on either side of Obi-Wan, dutifully battling to resuscitate him where he laid unresponsive. Anakin stopped resisting at once. The evac landed on one of the remaining landing platforms. Though the droids had been completely eliminated, the storm outside still sent an air of chaos through the city. A medical transport team was already stationed for pickup at the platform; Rex had a feeling something life-threatening was about to take place after receiving Anakin's initial request for evac. The team approached. Anakin sat on weak knees watching the clones attempt to revive his Master. His expression was blank, his back turned. When the clones rose to hand off their patient to the medical team, Anakin stood too.

A hand on his shoulder sought to guide him to the second stretcher prepared, but he shrugged it off. His attention was glued to Obi-Wan as if he might fall back into the sea if Anakin didn't keep watch. When his Master's stretcher was pushed toward the main base, he moved ahead too. This time, the hand on his shoulder became a grip on his bicep. He pulled away, just as before, but this time the hand was firm. He spared a glance back to instill the fear of the Chosen One in whoever dared keep him from protecting his Master, and to his surprise, saw the unforgettable blue markings adorning the helmet of his Captain. Anakin blinked in confusion.

"Ah, sir. With all due respect, you're just not yourself right now. General Kenobi is in good hands – the med facilities on Kamino are top notch. You can trust me on this, sir." Cautiously, he relaxed his grip, but kept his hand in place.

Anakin did not flee. A troubled expression gathered into the lines decorating his young face. He looked back toward the main base to witness the automated opening and closing of heavy stormproof doors, and then Obi-Wan was finally out of view.

Rex found himself unsure of what to say next. He was used to perfect sanity among his ranks. If a clone was getting a bit panicky, a quick and stern reminder of his role was always effective at restoring order. The Jedi weren't clones.

"…Why don't you get yourself checked out, sir." He gestured to the empty stretcher.

Following a pause, Anakin released a deep breath that deflated his entire form. "…Thanks. 'm fine."

The med team looked at each other. The clones back by the evac looked at the med team. All clones looked at Rex.

"Well uh… If you need anything, sir."

Anakin walked toward the main station. Each clone watched with rapt attention. The General completed an impressive eight steps before wilting to one side and collapsing into the arms of four well-trained clones.


	4. Chapter 4

Anakin woke up slowly to the quiet hum of the ventilation system circulating the air inside his single occupancy hospital room. As his perception grew more robust, he could discern more irregular noises: the sound of soles scuffing along outside his door, muffled murmurs of conversations enclosed behind walls. He inhaled deeply and opened an eye to the cheerless white of the ceiling. Despite not knowing his current location, the setting was familiar in the way all sophisticated medical facilities were. He lolled his head to the side against his overstuffed pillow and confirmed his guess at the sight of the regularly blinking machines, gradually sharpening into focus. His internal sense of navigation usually clued him in to the system, if not the exact planet or city he was on, but the drowsy, floating feeling behind his eyes kept him clueless. _Pain meds_ , he guessed, which meant injury. One by one he tensed his limbs, fingers and toes, surprised – but not unpleasantly so – when he found each in working order. With some reluctance Anakin next considered he might be concussed, given the gap in his memory of what must have happened prior to being admitted. _Time to get some answers, then._ The prospect of sitting up felt about as appealing as that of taking a sand bath in summer, but he decided his curiosity won out in this case. Sitting up was unwieldy, but not for lack of command in his limbs or pain anywhere along his back. He simply felt… out of alignment. He watched as his body obeyed the commands he gave it, but for some reason, they seemed to be issued from somewhere else. He ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. These must have been some good drugs. _Must have been a bad injury._

Turning his attention to find the room's exit, he noticed that the door was closed. Coincidentally, Anakin wondered if it was his imagination that the lights didn't seem quite blinding enough fit the hospital vibe. Putting things together, he figured he'd been left to sleep. But for how long? What was he missing? Was the battle over? Was there even a battle? If so, who won? Questions piled up in his mind. He realized he remembered very little about the battle he must've dropped out of. All he could remember was piloting a fighter above Kamino. Was that where he was now? Anakin gave up. Whenever things got too confusing, he instinctually sought out his Master. It was probably some habit leftover from being a Padawan, but even now he could always count on Obi-Wan to understand every minute detail about a given situation. It was part of what made him so good at talking to people. Part of what made him such a good strategist. Part of what made him such a good Master.

He decided that lack of apparent injury permitted him to get out of bed. His first few steps nearly sent him to the floor. The bedside table rattled as Anakin grabbed it roughly for support, just in time. He paused there long enough for his vision to swim back into place. _Kriff,_ he hated waking up drugged. Gingerly, he released the short table and tested his balance by walking a brief circle in the middle of the small room. Passable, he judged, but nowhere near ideal. He stepped into the tall automatic door's vicinity and jumped when it opened to present one pale, uniformed Kaminoan about to enter from the other side. The Kaminoan, however, looked perfectly expectant.

"Master Skywalker," he spoke in a scratchy, inquisitive tone. "You are awake."

Anakin craned his neck high to meet the Kaminoan's void-like eyes. He continued before Anakin could explain himself, almost drawling in his slow, scrutinizing words.

"I suppose you must be wondering many things, at the moment."

He paused to gaze deeper into Anakin from above. Something about the Kaminoan made Anakin feel more like a caged specimen than a Republic military officer. The length of the pause eventually signaled him to start asking questions, but the Kaminoan spoke for him just as he made to begin.

"Yes, yes… You're not as uncertain as you seem to be."

Anakin raised an eyebrow.

"Uh- "

"It has been requested that you be put in contact with CT-7567 upon your awakening. I am here to fulfill this request," the Kaminoan interrupted again.

Another long-ish pause.

"So- "

"Of course, it would be preferable for you to remain here while I escort him to you."

More silence.

"…Okay, but- "

"The order of these things is of little concern to me, however. I will bring you to the clone. Come now."

Anakin stared at the Kaminoan's narrow back as he turned and walked. The creature's slow, meticulous speech matched his slow, meticulous gait. The whole meeting was so unexpected that Anakin forgot to be offended at the disregard for Rex's colloquial name. The pair found Rex overseeing his company of pilots while repairs were conducted on the ships flown in from Bothawui. The hangar was bustling with clones – many of which Anakin didn't recognize. Approached from behind, Rex first detected the stalk-like Kaminoan before noticing his General alongside wearing the roomy bedclothes from the hospital wing. Anakin sympathized. The Kaminoan was hard to ignore.

"Sir! Am I glad to see you up and about. How's your head?" A sincere smile of relief mixed with eagerness shone through his otherwise militant bearing.

"Never better," he lied with a smile in return. "This guy says you wanted to see me. I'm hoping you'll tell me why I woke up in the med wing."

Rex stole a glance of concern up at the silent Kaminoan. "…Ah. I was afraid this might happen. Let's go to the mess hall, sir. Should be quiet around this time of day. I can give you the mission's full report." He gestured vaguely in some direction Anakin presumed to be the mess hall, and started walking after a curt nod to the unnerving Kaminoan. Anakin followed.

"Oh!" Rex stopped in his tracks, apparently remembering something important as he turned to face his General. "Before I tell you about the mission, the staff says General Kenobi's been stabilized. It's like I said: he's in good hands here, sir."

Anakin's blood turned to ice. "Oh, _no_."

"Sir…?"

Just as quickly, the chill over his body evaporated in a flush of hot wrath. " _Stabilized?!_ " He shouted at Rex, his hands reflexively balling into fists at the news. "He was _dying?!_ What- No." The misplaced fury slipped back to reason with an indignant huff. "Just- Tell me what happened." He folded his arms tight over his chest. Rex resisted the urge to lean away from the snarling cloud of volatility standing impatient beside him.

"Well- Sir- "

"Actually, just take me to him," he spat. "You know where he is, don't you?"

"Yes, sir." Rex was very glad he did.

The door to Obi-Wan's room in the hospital wing was unadorned, single occupancy, just like Anakin's. A privilege of high rank. Rex put himself between Anakin and it, leaving just enough distance to prevent the automatic door from activating.

"Now, things might look bad in there, but I promise there's nowhere better for the General to be staying right now. He's probably asleep, so let's- "

"Move, Rex."

Rex nodded and stepped aside without finishing his sentence. Anakin stepped forward. He anticipated the worst. He prepared himself to see his Master frail and broken, alive only through thin tubes and wires. Maybe a bacta tank. What he found defied all scenes that he imagined: nothing. The bed at the opposite end of the room was clean and empty, the sheets folded back in tidy, careful lines. The machines – the same ones found in his own room – were switched off. The only thing to signal anyone had been here before Anakin and Rex was a dormant IV pole tucked against the far wall with a bag half full of unknown substance and a long tube wrapped around the top rack.

"…Are you sure this is the right room?"

"Uh, yes sir – room 3018. I saw him myself this morning."

"And what time is it now?"

"Sixteen hundred hours, sir."

Unwittingly, Anakin brought his arms up in the iconic thinking pose of his Master. The act nearly cracked a cheeky grin onto Rex's face, but he thought better than to make light of the current situation.

"Any chance he's been discharged? Changed rooms? Moved to surgery?"

"All I can tell you is that last I saw 'im, he was sleeping right here. Doctor said he was all taken care of, and the only thing left to do was let him rest."

Anakin tapped his bottom lip twice. "…I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Sir?"

"Take me to Master Ti."

"Right away, sir."

The communications bay in the main station was a wide, semi-circular room near the very top of the structure, looking out over the sea through a long, curved window. It resembled a frigate's cockpit, to a degree, complete with rows and rows of whirring terminals and transmitters, like pews of a cathedral. Dotted here and there clones were stationed monitoring signals both incoming and outgoing. At the center of the bay, nearest to the endless window, Shaak Ti stood conjoined in a close circle with Adi Gallia and one hospital gowned Obi-Wan Kenobi. A second IV pole of unknown substance sat just outside the circle where it connected to his left arm, and a standard issue Jedi cloak draped over his shoulders as if to downplay the obvious medical affects. The three each possessed the same look of seriousness as they undoubtedly discussed implications of the previous battle.

Neither Rex nor Anakin felt too surprised. Anakin walked forward calmly, a storm roiling just beneath the surface. He broke their circle by leaning in obtrusively between Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan.

"Good afternoon, Masters."

Obi-Wan was first to respond, as expected.

"Ah, Anakin. So good of you to join us. I understand I have you to thank for my life today. Again."

"Right," he agreed without listening, "Well, maybe you'd take better care of it back in the hospital wing, where you belong?"

Something seemed to click just then in the other Jedi's minds. Adi scoffed.

"That's right! I was _telling_ you to go rest."

"It would seem our esteemed General was able to distract us," Shaak added serenely.

Obi-Wan shot Anakin the briefest look of resentment through his eyes, then quickly made to recover.

"No matter. Our first priority must be the prevention of a similar offense in the future. The consequences of an undiscovered vulnerability are clear to us all." With a glance sideways he indicated the missing station outside the window, the broken pegs of its snapped supports still visible against the waves. "Now, I believe we were in the middle of discussing the transport our uninvited guest may have used to land on Tipoca with all those explosives. Master Ti, you said the organic scanners began detecting activity about a week before the attack?"

Her eyes lingered on the destroyed station. Though her posture was unchanged, the mourning she felt resonated in the Force. "Yes. I have yet to review the shipments arriving within that period, but protocol at the receiving dock involves thorough scanning of all items. Our workers are diligent. Unless…"

"Unless the intruder wasn't hiding in a shipment. They could've been disguised in clone armor," Adi chimed in.

"Impossible. Troopers are not allowed in shipping or receiving areas. The workers there- "

Anakin cleared his throat loudly. Obi-Wan elbowed him in the side. Anakin elbowed him back. Obi-Wan doubled over in pain.

"Master Kenobi!"

"Oh- _kriff_ , Obi-Wan, I'm sorry!"

Several communications workers looked over. Rex leapt forward from his place beside the door on instinct. Obi-Wan gripped the IV pole connected to his arm and used it to steady himself before standing upright again, looking pale. Now it was his turn to clear his throat.

"Yes. Well." He exhaled deeply. "Pardon me; just a cramp. Please, Master Ti. About the dock workers?"

"Master Kenobi, it is my suggestion that you heed the advice of Knight Skywalker. I will use the time during your recovery to review the shipment reports, as mentioned." The Togruta nodded in finality.

"And I'll work on decrypting the transmission we picked up before the Separatists arrived," Adi offered.

"With all due respect, sir, they're right. We need you in top shape," added Rex, appearing at Anakin's side.

Obi-Wan raised a judgmental brow in Anakin's direction. "You've even brought your Captain into this, I see."

"Master, please."

Obi-Wan knew that the growing worry infecting everyone nearby would be difficult to deflate, but it was the sincere concern flooding his former Padawan's eyes that finally took him down.

"Oh, fine," sighed Obi-Wan, "But you're evidently not due to be here yet, either," he commented with a sweep of his eyes over Anakin's garb, "And I still haven't heard how the battle was finished."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go with you." Anakin purposefully made it sound like a chore, despite planning to accompany him anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

Rex elected to stay in the hospital room with Anakin and Obi-Wan once Anakin admitted to remembering essentially none of yesterday's battle. Obi-Wan was lying on his bed, propped up with pillows and reconnected to the IV he'd abandoned earlier. Anakin sat comfortably on the same bed at his side, leaving the only chair in the room to Rex, who recited the battle in scrupulous detail. Concerning the sudden explosion at the bridge Obi-Wan was standing on, he reported that the operator for one anti-aircraft cannon had been killed during the fight. On retrieving his body, it was noticed that the clone was bent awkwardly to one side, having been flung sideways due to the force of a shot's impact to his chest. Rex guessed that the operator hit his controls when he was shot, throwing the cannon's barrels toward the bridge by mistake. Friendly fire. The more he explained, the more Anakin remembered.

"You sent out a request for evac once the bridge was blown. Said General Kenobi was hit. By the time I got one rounded up, we traced your signal underwater. Scared us all to death, that did."

"Had a nice swim?" Obi-Wan commented, no small amount of reprimand coursing through his voice.

"I guess I didn't, judging by the fact I don't remember anything," Anakin snapped.

"That's another thing. Docs diagnosed you with a concussion, General. Figures – you were bloody mad by the time we pulled you out of the water – uh, sir." In his reminiscence, Rex neglected formality.

"What?" questioned Anakin.

"This sounds entertaining," said Obi-Wan.

"Well, sir," Rex began with a chuckle, "You damn near drowned both yourself and General Kenobi here. Wouldn't let us take him on the evac. And _then_ tried to jump off the ship once we took off."

Obi-Wan stifled his laughter with a palm over his face. Anakin huffed to smother his embarrassment.

"Okay, mind telling me why? I must've had a good reason."

"Guess you didn't see us pull General Kenobi on board. Thought we left him down there."

Anakin's cheeks flushed pink. He averted his eyes from Obi-Wan, who watched the back of Anakin's head with an over-the-top expression of mock-endearment, placing his hand over his heart. "How sweet."

"Yeah, well, on second thought maybe you _should've._ "

That earned laughter from both parties, Obi-Wan pausing to wince when his side wrenched at the strain. Anakin sensed it, and promptly discarded his embarrassment to address his Master. Obi-Wan dismissed him with a nonchalant wave, and Rex continued.

"As for you, General," he motioned toward Obi-Wan, "The docs say you took some pretty bits of shrapnel. Got a few ribs done in, too."

"Actually, I remember feeling quite unharmed after the blast. I only scraped a few pieces of debris while swimming. Anything else I'm certain is leftover from my previous affair on Mechis III. Horribly inhospitable planet, I might add. I can't imagine why anything is built upon a rock riddled with active volcanoes." The irony struck none of them as they each sat atop a gurgling ocean planet in a station under emergency repair.

"What happened on Mechis III?" Anakin asked curiously.

"Another time, Anakin."

Just then, a clone in shiny white armor appeared in the threshold of the doorway. Excitement was plain on his face when he located Rex across the way, immediately replaced with stoic dignity and the stock-still poise of a new recruit.

"Sirs! Apologies for the intrusion, sirs. I ah, didn't know the Generals would be awake."

"At ease, private," Rex responded smoothly. "State your business."

"Yes, sir. Well, the boys and I were wondering if- I mean, not to waste your time, sir, but the boys and I were wondering if you'd join us at the court before light's out. It's a real honor to have you here, sir."

Rex smiled and turned to the Jedi.

"Oh!" the clone in the door gasped, "Terribly sorry, sirs, it's- it's a privilege to have you here as well, of course, that goes without saying. I didn't mean-"

Rex stood from his chair with a metallic creak. "I think I'll go see what this kid's on about. With your leave, Generals?"

Technically, when multiple commanding officers in the Grand Army of the Republic were addressed simultaneously, the higher rank was to answer and be obeyed. Anakin and Obi-Wan knew this, of course, but Obi-Wan usually yielded his right so that Anakin's men would learn to respect them as equals.

"Have fun, you two," Anakin taunted.

The pair departed with a salute, one looking far more natural than the other.

"Obi-Wan?" he started, soon as the door shut behind them.

"Yes?"

"I remember… Did you really lift that entire station? When it was falling? I was on this one platform, and I remember seeing one of the stations start going down, and then you were on top of it like-" he extended his arms with palms facing downward, "-and I swear I saw the thing stop."

Obi-Wan smiled. He couldn't say it – not without being mocked for his age – but in that moment Anakin was again the ten-year-old Padawan he raised, full of energy, running back to his Master to confirm all the rumors told by his classmates about Obi-Wan's adventures. He scratched at the bandage near his temple.

"Don't be silly, Anakin. I doubt even you could lift something that massive on your own. I'd just been chasing our secret agent for the better part of the day, so against my preference I became acutely familiar with the support structures."

"Oh, so you… Focused on the supports?" Anakin's eyes shone with enthusiasm.

"Precisely. I assumed that each of the stations would have similar designs, so I searched underneath me for the sort I recalled from earlier in the day. I found them, with some luck, and so I was able to manipulate the station proper by focusing only on the causative section… for a time, anyway." He shrugged, bringing no attention to the subsequent explosion.

Anakin thought on this. Wondered how much of the Force permeating that station would need to be sifted through in mere moments to get at the right parts. Wondered how he might try that trick later to do some heavy lifting. Wondered how many other tricks he hadn't learned since the war divided him from Obi-Wan so often.

"…Are you sure you're all right?" Obi-Wan interrupted his musing.

Anakin met his examination with mild confusion.

"I'm fine. Memory's coming back, too. Something wrong?"

"Not overtly, no. But I do know that you were not sent to accompany me on my initial investigation here because you were occupied on Bothawui. Yet here you are. I worry it's been some time since you've eaten."

"Says you. You just got back from Mechis III which is 'horribly inhospitable.' Yet here you are."

The banter was comfortable. Either of them knew it was ultimately moot to suggest the other partake in a normal eating/sleeping schedule, but still, when the rest of the galaxy saw them as the Team, indestructible and immortal, it was soothing to hear _someone_ acknowledge that the war was slowly eating them alive. In the silence that followed, they each allowed the glowing warmth to radiate through their bond. It felt like home. Not sandy, ugly 'home' on Tatooine, nor sterile, scrutinizing 'home' at the Jedi Temple. Home existed in the Force shared between them, wherever in the galaxy they traveled.

 _Please remember to take care of yourself._

Anakin felt the sentiment passed to him from the other end. Sitting this close, telepathy felt as natural as breathing.

 _…Because you won't always be there to take care of me,_ he finished for him. Images flashed behind his eyes: black, devilish waters, a heroic Jedi standing atop a sinking tower, a lone blue lightsaber drifting upward in a field of gloom, its master forsaken in suffocation. Anakin wondered where he'd be if he was just a second too late. Part of him hoped he'd be at the bottom of the ocean with Obi-Wan.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He blinked the images away.

"You were very brave today, Anakin."

Anakin scoffed. "Oh yeah?"

"Absolutely. In the same reckless, brutish way as usual, but brave nonetheless."

An earnest chuckle. He knew it was never a good idea to ponder long on the what-ifs and the almosts, and he knew Obi-Wan was reminding him in the gentlest way possible. _Kriff_ he loved the man.

"…Guess it's pretty late, huh." _Don't make me leave._

"I suppose it is." _Stay as long as you need, Padawan._


End file.
